Approximately 40 people attended the Ceremonial Dance Presentation and Potluck at Sanborn Park in Saratoga, California. After everyone enjoyed the food and desserts, members from the Cherokee Community of the Silicon Valley encouraged everyone to join the community group and to plan on attending future meetings and programs.
The Comingdeer Family, COTTA Representatives and CCSV Council Members
Next, Julia Coates, At-Large Council Member for Cherokee Nation, explained how the community groups are Cherokee Nation’s way to reach out to Cherokee citizens who live outside of the 14 counties in northeast Oklahoma. The community groups will be the first to know about upcoming programs, impending legislation and many other matters. She introduced the Cherokee Resource, an online database, as another way to be connected to Cherokee Nation by sharing your skills and expertise with businesses and other opportunities. Check it out at: http://cherokeeresource.org
David Comingdeer, the Chief of the Echota Ceremonial Grounds in Park Hill, Oklahoma, gave an incredibly informative presentation on the origins and current practices of the Stomp Dance. From April to October, during the time when food can be cultivated, he and his family hold monthly Stomp Dances. He brought some items used during the ceremony, including the shell shakers worn by the women and the ceremonial belt worn by the men. His daughter, Tara, the newly crowned Junior Miss Cherokee played a song on the flute she made from river cane. Everyone was so moved to hear about this deeply sacred ceremony and to learn how the Echota and other ceremonial grounds are preserving it for future generations.
Rick Gassaway and Kristin Gideon, representatives from COTTA (Community Organization Training and Technical Assistance) met with the CCSV tribal council and shared their plans to help us grow as an organization. They are committed to bringing out more programs and people from Cherokee Nation to help make our meetings more meaningful. We all agreed that the whole purpose is to share information and resources with each other in the hopes that we all feel a connection and the spirit of ga-du-gi.
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